California · U.S. · The Information · BBC Technology
California Attorney General sues 23andMe successor for 2023 data breach
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said he will sue DNA testing firm Chrome Holding following a probe on Thursday, alleging its predecessor company 23andMe failed to protect sensitive customer data.
Key facts
- The company once counted Snoop Dogg, Oprah Winfrey, and Eva Longoria as customers and saw its share price top $300 at its peak before crashing in 2024
- Last year, it was fined £2.31m by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), a UK watchdog, which alleged 23andMe failed to put adequate measures in place to secure sensitive user data
- The ICO said personal data of 155,592 UK residents was accessed
- 23andMe was cofounded by Anne Wojcicki, sister of the late YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin
Summary
Bonta said the failure resulted in a 2023 data breach which exposed genetic predispositions and risk factors of nearly seven million users, plus information about biological relatives, ancestry, and ethnicity. "Our investigation found that the company failed to take basic steps to protect users' data," said Bonta, who added 23andMe "lied to consumers about the severity of its 2023 data breach. Bonta also alleges the subsequent sale of 23andMe user data on the dark web by threat actors specifically touted that it belonged to Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and Jewish users. "This is disturbing and incredibly dangerous" given it occurred during a period of "mounting anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander and antisemitic hate and violence," Bonta said.